The Guardian Council (GC) on Tuesday rejected
the Majlis bill on Iran's joining a UN convention on women's rights
as well as a motion to ban torture for discrepancies against the
Constitution and the Sharia law of Islam, IRNA reported from Tehran.

GC Spokesman Ebrahim Azizi told IRNA that the Majlis bill on
Iran's joining the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) contradicted the Sharia law in
Clause A of its single article.

"The bill has not determined the authority to recognize
[discriminations against women] so that any comments could be made
on that," Azizi said.

He added that the convention in many cases is against the Sharia,
and that the signatory parties are obliged to fully implement its
contents that involve those cases.

"Once Iran signs the convention, it will be obliged to accept its
contents in cases that are against Islamic rulings. Therefore, the
council voted the bill as against the Sharia," Azizi said.

The GC spokesman also said that the council had rejected the
Majlis motion on Iran's joining the convention on banning torture,
arguing that it contradicted the Constitution and would increase
public expenditure.

"It is not clear why the Majlis has presented the measure as a
motion considering the contents of articles 77 and 125 of the
Constitution," Azizi said.

"Iran's joining the convention through the proposed plan in many
cases would increase public expenditure while no suggestion has been
made on how the new expenditure would be compensated and this is
against Article 75 of the Constitution."

The Majlis last year approved a motion to ban physical harassment
of inmates "in whatever form".

The motion also bans blindfolding inmates, interrogating them late
at night, keeping the inmate awake, insulting them and putting them
under psychological pressure.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Azizi further said that the Majlis had
failed to amend the discrepancies with the Constitution in an already
rejected bill on the electoral law, as advised by the GC, adding that
the MPs had in certain cases even increased those discrepancies.

"The Majlis has in some cases removed the discrepancies, but has
in several other cases increased them or failed to change certain
others," Azizi said.

"The GC accordingly returned the bill to the chamber for
amendment."

The bill on amending the electoral law has been basically drawn
up to address the GC's prerogative of Approbatory Supervision, which
enables the council to disqualify candidates, whom it considers as
unfit for state posts from running in elections.

The government has cited the bill as aiming to increase people's
participation in elections and reduce wanton disqualification of
elections hopefuls.

The GC spokesman further stressed that the council had also
approved seven Majlis bills the most important of which was a bill to
legalize embryo donations to infertile spouses.